"EA had a solid quarter driven by continued digital growth and disciplined cost management," says Executive Chairman Larry Probst. "We are also executing on a clear set of goals for leadership on mobile, PC, current and next generation consoles."

Another element critically important to EA, however, is the game maker's relationship with Apple.

EA's Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore admitted today that the iDevice maker is now EA's top retail partner in terms of sales. A number of EA titles - The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Real Racing 3, The Sims Freeplay, etc. - have been hugely popular among iOS device owners.

“Our quarter was notable was for its strong digital sales,” Moore said on a conference call. “To that end, Apple was EA’s biggest retail partner as measured by sales. That is a first.”

All told, Electronic Arts generated an impressive $90 million on smartphones and tablets, although the company didn't specify today how much of that amount was generated exclusively from iOS as opposed to Android.

If Nintendo opts into mobile gaming I think it's literally a game changers. It could raise the overall cost per game offerings across the board. We need to validated paying more for games and Nintendo has some great games but I would love an entry level price point at around $10 for all the old school games.

Maybe Apple can buy them... I think it would pay for it's own purchase amazingly quick.

When iOS games started getting popular, I always wondered how companies like EA would fare. They were accustomed to selling console and PC games for $50+ and now had to sell games for $0.99. Apparently, they still do very well!

When iOS games started getting popular, I always wondered how companies like EA would fare. They were accustomed to selling console and PC games for $50+ and now had to sell games for $0.99. Apparently, they still do very well!

This is because they have no production costs. When you buy a $50 game for a console it comes on a cartridge or disc etc, whereas with these digital downloads there's no production costs what so ever. Only development and advertising and well if the game was already made just ported over you can even scratch the dev charge too. All profit.